An electronic terminallocated on bank premises or elsewhere through which customers of financial institutions may make deposits, withdrawals, or other transactions as they would through a bank teller.

If an ATM machine belongs to the same company as your bank or credit union, it probably won’t charge you anything for using it. If it comes from a different financial institution, it will probably charge you a fee (often $1.50) each time you use it. In addition, your own bank will also charge you a fee (often $2.00). So, for example, if your bank is Washington Mutual and you withdraw money from a Wells Fargo ATM Machine, Wells Fargo might charge you $1.50 because you’re not a Wells Fargo customer, and Washington Mutual might charge you $2.00 because you used a competitor’s ATM. So each time you use that ATM it costs you $3.50 (in this example) even if the fee displayed on the ATM just lists the $1.50 charged by Wells Fargo. It’s wise only to use an ATM card in an emergency or to take out large sums, because small withdrawals cost the same as large ones. If ATM fees were an annual percentage rate on a loan, they could add up to over 1000% if you incurred them frequently to take out small amounts of cash.